When She Loved Me
by Princess Tyler Briefs
Summary: Honda tells Yami his story when he complains about his lack of memories. HAVE TISSUES!


A/N: Um...yeah. I have, I think, ten different theories on what Honda's family is like. This one is my favorite, and the newest one. Please enjoy this song fic, and have a box of tissues ready ^_^.  
  
Also, this takes place after Yami and Yuugi have their own bodies. Don't ask me how, they just do. Finally the three stars in the middle of one...that's just to set off that its present day Yami and Honda talking versus the other way...  
  
*~*  
  
Lyrics  
  
*~*  
  
Disclaimer: Song is owned by Disney, Yu-Gi-Oh by some Japanese people.  
  
Summery: Honda tells Yami about his past when Yami is complaining to him about not having any memories. *No Slash*  
  
Authoress: JKJ (Jounouchi_kun_joey@yahoo.com)  
  
Title: When She Loved Me  
  
Yami no Yuugi sat, brooding, as he watched his other half and his blond companion play in the leaves at the park. He jerked in surprise as their other friend, Honda, sat by his side on the bench.  
  
"What are you looking so intently at?" Yami gestured to where Yuugi was now tagging Jounouchi, who attempted to dodge and ended up falling over. "Oh."  
  
"I have no memories of things like that." Yami whispered sadly. "No memories of friends, or family." Yami didn't notice Honda's expression go dark, and was slightly surprised when his friend spoke in a bitter voice.  
  
"Sometimes its better not to have those memories. They only cause pain." Yami blinked at him.  
  
"How can memories of happy times cause pain?"  
  
"Because they tell a story of what could have been."  
  
"What do you mean, Honda-kun?" Honda sighed, looking at the ancient pharoh.  
  
"Do you really want to know?" Yami nodded, and the brunette sighed again. "Let me tell you my story then..." *~*  
  
When somebody loved me, Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together lives within my heart  
  
*~*  
  
A young dark skinned boy, with bright hazel eyes, spun round and round in a tire swing hanging from an apple tree, laughing in a high childish way.  
  
The sun came through the trees' brilliantly green leaves, creating a fascinating dance of light and shadows on his delighted face. Everything looked brighter in that brilliant summer sun. A young woman sat on the tire above him, laughing gaily, her pink tank top and dark brown hair blowing out behind her in the light breeze. The small boy let the tire spin to a stop, still laughing, and toppled onto the grass. The woman quickly followed him, lying down on her side next to him and laughing.  
  
"That was quite a ride, Hiroto." She laughed, the world still spinning around her.  
  
"The sun was spinning us, reidou. It made us go so fast!"  
  
"Yes, it did." She smiled at him, turning over on her side to look at the tiny features of her most treasured possession. Visiting her parents on their rural apple orchard had been a good idea, a much need break for the four-year-old boy and his twenty-year old mother. Honda didn't look at her though; he was busy watching the sky.  
  
"It's so blue, reidou! And the sheep are dancing!" She blinked her large green eyes at him.  
  
"Sheep?" He turned his head to look at her, almost like she didn't have a clue about anything.  
  
"The white things, in the sky, reidou!" She smiled as he turned his round face back up to the sky, and didn't bother to tell him that they were clouds. Let him think they were sheep, for just a little while longer.  
  
*~*  
  
And when she was sad, I was there to dry her tears  
  
*~*  
  
Akari Honda sad on her bed, her head in her hands, with tears streaming down her face. Why did life have to be so hard? It wasn't fair! She knew she'd messed up, doing what she done as a young girl, but why couldn't she have been one of the lucky ones whose boyfriend turned out not to be a ja-ku? Why was she left alone to raise a child on her own?  
  
Angrily, she tossed her pillow across the room, hitting the wall with a satisfying muffled thud, and the flung herself face down on the bed to cry, and allowing her body to tremble with sobs.  
  
"Reidou?" She looked up, green eyes sparkling in the dim lamp light, and saw her small boy standing in the doorway, dressed haphazardly in his over large green duck jimmies, and holding his fluffy blanket. He stepped into her room, small dirty feet soft on the carpeted floor. "Reidou are you alright."  
  
She couldn't help but smile at his sincere, innocent concern.  
  
"Hai, enzerubebi mai." She said, using her special pet name for him. "I will be. Why are you awake so late?"  
  
"I heard you crying," he said in six-year-old honesty. "Are you crying because of me, Reidou?"  
  
"Oh no," she soothed his small fears, and kissed the dark forehead, "it is not *because* of you I weep, Hiroto. It is *for* you." He blinked his captivating hazel eyes.  
  
"Why, Reidou? I am doing just fine."  
  
"You should have more than this, enzerubebi mai." She whispered, pulling him up onto the bed, and holding him close. "All of your friends have nice homes, with plenty to eat, and new clothes and..."  
  
"Ato chichioya?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"I do not need a chichioya, Reidou. I have you! Everything else does not matter!" He hugged her tighter, smiling and wiping away her tears with a pudgy little hand. "Do not cry, Reidou. All will be well, because we will always be together." She laughed, knowing that he had no idea why she was doing so, or how much just holding him was comforting her.  
  
"Watashi aijou otaku, Hiroto." He smiled, and kissed her cheek in the special way only children can.  
  
"Watashi aijou otaku nimo, Reidou."  
  
*~*  
  
And when she was happy, So was I When she loved me  
  
*~*  
  
"Reidou?" Akari looked at her little boy, and burst into a fit of giggles. He was standing in his overalls, covered head to foot in green paint. "Is it supposed to go on me or the wall, Reidou?"  
  
Still laughing she walked over with her rag and began to wipe off his face. "Well, it is supposed to go on the wall, but we'll work with what we get."  
  
Honda made a face as some of the paint got into his mouth. "Why are we painting the room again, Reidou?"  
  
"Because we needed a change, and we had a little extra money."  
  
"But why green? Why not blue with airplanes?" Akari laughed again, sticking the rag back in the pocket of her overalls.  
"You and airplanes, Hiroto. You'll be a pilot someday, I'm sure." Hiroto smiled, picking up his brush again and running it in blotchy uneven streaks that always seemed to go to the left.  
  
"I'll take you to see the sunset in my airplane someday, Reidou. Just you and me, and it'll be happy."  
  
"As long as it's the two of us, Hiroto, it'll always be happy," Akari smiled, and gave her sticky son a hug.  
  
*~*  
  
Through the summer and the fall  
  
We had each other, that was all  
  
Just she and I together,  
  
Like it was meant to be  
  
*~*  
  
"Look out!" Akari squealed, her brown hair pulled back from her face, as she jumped into a pile of brown, red, and orange leaves. She laughed as her little son quickly followed her, letting out a whoop of delight. The pair rolled around in them for a few minutes, scattering leaves. High- pitched giggles of a child were heard as a tickle fight ensued, before they were both on their back laughing and panting.  
  
"How come," Honda half panted half pouted, "it takes us hours to get them all into a pile and only minutes to spread them out again?"  
  
"Because leaves don't like to be in piles, I guess." She smiled, picking a leaf off her sweatshirt and placing it on his forehead. Honda giggled and tried to blow it off without much success.  
  
The five-year-old rolled over on his stomach, and laid his head on his arms, looking at his mother. "Can we go swimming next summer, Reidou?"  
  
"If you want."  
  
"And you'll come watch my soccer game on Saturday, won't you?"  
  
"Of course, Hiroto! I won't miss any of your soccer games, ever."  
  
"You promise?"  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Pinky promise?" The little boy extended one pinky and, smiling, his mother linked her slender pinky around his.  
  
"Pinky promise."  
  
*~*  
  
And when she was lonely,  
  
I was there to comfort her  
  
And I knew that she loved me  
  
*~*  
  
The rain strummed on the roof of Akari's car where it sat parked outside the elementary school, it's inside seeming to match the mood of the occupant. The brunette watched, an indistinguishable look on her face, as a small family walked over to a white mini van parked in front of her, the little dark haired boy laughing and talking as he held the hand of his mother, and his father. They were all smiling and laughing, and Akari sighed. She'd never be able to give Hiroto that.  
  
The overhead light came on as the passenger door opened, but her son's face lit up the car almost as much as the light did. "Reidou! Reidou, guess what!" Akari couldn't help but smile at her son's enthusiasm.  
  
"What, Hiroto?"  
  
"I won the spelling bee today! I went up against the whole class, and I won! Isn't that great, Reidou!" Akari reached over, and laughing hugged her soaking wet son, holding his warm, wet form against her.  
  
"That's wonderful, Hiroto! I'm so happy for you!"  
  
"I'm happy to, Reidou," he said seriously, "as long as your happy, I'm happy."  
  
"Me too, enzerubebi mai," Akari smiled, bumping their foreheads together, "me too."  
  
*** "I'm not seeing why you would hate these memories, Honda-kun," Yami whispered, staring at his friend and wondering what had possessed him to share all of this with him.  
  
Honda was silent for a while, not moving from where he was leaned against the railing, before he finally whispered in a bitter voice, "that's because that was before everything changed. Before he, Jiro, showed up."  
  
"Jiro?"  
  
"My mom's new boyfriend," Honda cursed under his breath, "he's the one that ruined everything." ***  
  
*~*  
  
So the years went by  
  
I stayed the same  
  
But she began to drift away  
  
I was left alone  
  
*~*  
  
Honda sat on the couch, staring blankly at the blinking TV screen, as his mom came in the door, looking flushed and excited.  
  
"How was your date?" The seven-year-old asked, not looking at her. His mom dropped her purse on the entryway table and spun around so her lavender dress blew out.  
  
"Oh, Hiroto, Jiro is the most wonderful guy! We had a candlelight picnic by the lake, and then went for a walk in the park by moonlight, and then stopped for a glass of Champaign on the way home. Oh, it was so romantic." She laughed and spun again, going into the kitchen.  
  
"Did you have a nice time at home?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"What did you have for dinner?" Honda pointed to the empty TV dinner tray that was on the coffee table next to his feet. She went over and picked it up, throwing it in the trash, and then set out scooping herself a small bowl of ice cream.  
  
The house was silent for a moment before Honda spoke up, "aren't you going to tell me to go to bed?"  
  
"What? Why? It's only..."  
  
"It's 11:30, Reidou. On a school night."  
  
"Oh." Honda got to his feet, turning off the TV and walking silently to his room.  
  
"Good night, Reidou. See you in the morning."  
  
*~*  
  
Still I waited for the day  
  
When she'd say I will always love you  
  
*~*  
  
"Honda?" The brunette looked up from where he was sitting on the school stairs, watching the rain pour off the roof. He jumped to his feet when he realized his teacher was standing there, holding her books and looking at him.  
  
"Yagamia-sensei," He bowed a quick greeting, "I didn't hear you coming."  
  
"What are you still doing here, Honda?" She asked, looking down at his face, her sharp eyes not missing the tear streaks still stained upon his face.  
  
"Waiting for my Okaasan," he said, "she promised she be here to pick me up today."  
  
"Does she forget you often," the teacher whispered gently.  
  
Tears sprang to Honda's eyes, and he struggled to hide his hurt as he whispered, "She didn't use too."  
  
*~*  
  
Lonely and forgotten,  
  
I'd never thought she'd look my way  
  
*~*  
  
Ten-year-old Honda came into the house, slamming the door behind him in a fit of rage. Akari didn't look up as the grass stained boy walked up to where she was working on something that involved light purple paper and a lot of lace. In fact she didn't appear to notice him at all until he shoved a stack of the afore mentioned items off the table into her lap yelling, "You forgot!" as he did so.  
  
"Forgot what?" She asked in surprise, moving her coffee as another stack went sliding across the table from the ten-year-olds tirade.  
  
"My soccer game! The championship! You promised me you'd be there! You promised me!" Tears were now falling from furious angry eyes. "You said you'd be there, and you weren't!" Akari gasped, getting down on one knee, so she was eye level with her son.  
  
"Oh, Hiroto, I'm so sorry. With the wedding and everything..."  
  
"I don't care about your stupid wedding! This was important to me, and you promised!"  
  
"Well, my wedding is important to me."  
  
"I used to be too!" Silence fell, and the boy watched her angrily for several minutes. When she said nothing in her defense or to comfort him he turned and stormed away. When he reached the door way he paused, and muttered without turning back to her, "for what its worth, I scored the winning goal."  
  
Without another word he walked away, and Akari winced as a moment later she heard the door slam. She bit her lip for a minute, before tears came to her eyes as she decided something and picked up the phone.  
  
*~*  
  
And she smiled at me and held me just like she used to do  
  
Like she loved me  
  
When she loved me  
  
*~*  
  
"Where are we going, Okaasan?" Honda asked, looking at her curiously. He was sitting in the passenger seat, something that had been rare as late as it was always occupied by his soon-to-be stepfather, Jiro.  
  
"Somewhere." Was the only answer he got. He frowned in thought for a minute before trying again.  
  
"Why is all my stuff packed, and yours not."  
  
"Because you're staying and I'm not." Her voice sounded different, as if she were forcing it to be emotionless and far away. Looking perplexed, his frown deepening, Honda fell silent again. Neither of them said anything until they stopped outside a building that Honda didn't recognize.  
  
"Grab your stuff, Hiroto," Akari managed to whisper, and obediently the ten-year-old grabbed his duffle bag. He followed her inside, and stared at all the kids that were sitting around, all playing or doing something. Some looked up at him, staring, while others gave him looks of sympathy, which only confused him more. They stopped just before the door in front of a rather large woman.  
  
"Here he is Izumi-san." Akari bowed, not looking at the woman or her son.  
  
"Don't worry, Honda-san," the woman smiled, "we here at Domino Orphanage are dedicated to helping children."  
Honda felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Orphanage? This was an orphanage? Then it really hit him, and he dropped his bag, turning to his mother.  
  
"Okaasan! You can't! You can't leave me here! Please!" Now she looked at him, tears in her eyes, but she said nothing, so he kept trying. "Reidou! Please!"  
  
Now Akari dropped to one knee, and gently kissed his forehead. "Gomenasai, Hiroto. I should have done this in the first place. I could never give you the kind of home you disserve. Watashi aijou otaku, Hiroto." With that she got up, and walked quickly away.  
  
Honda chased after her, yelling, "Wait! Please! Don't leave me! Reidou? Reidou!" He reached the sidewalk as her car tore off down the street, and he could only watch, tearfully, as her car faded away.  
  
*~*  
  
When somebody loved me  
  
Everything was beautiful  
  
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart  
  
*~*  
  
"She never came back for me. I never saw her again." Yami stared at his friend, eyes now wide and face red with shame.  
  
"Gomen, Honda-kun," he whispered, "I never knew."  
  
"I try to forget," Honda whispered, "but you can't forget." His eyes hardened as he watched Jounouchi finally tackle Yuugi, sending them both head over heels into a pile of leaves. "She loved me once, I know she did, so I can't forget. I'll never forget her, but she forgot me."  
  
Yami again gave him a soft look, not really knowing what to say, and so instead he turned away, and watched in silence, with Honda, as Jounouchi and Yuugi played.  
  
*~*  
  
When she loved me  
  
*~*  
  
Translations =^.^=:  
  
Note that she calls him Hiroto, because in Japan only your family calls you by your "first" name, while everyone else knows you by your last name. No idea why they call Yuugi and Anzu by their first names in the show, but whatever.  
  
Reidou: Momma or Mommy. I can't remember which for sure.  
  
Enzerubebi mai: My angel Baby  
  
Hai: Yes  
  
Ato chichioya: A Father  
  
Watashi aijou otaku (nimo): I love you (too)  
  
Okaasan: Mother  
  
Gomen(assai): I'm sorry (very) 


End file.
